Domain Valuation Process

I no particular order, I have a long list of criteria that I refer to when trying to estimate the
value of a domain name that I am buying or selling. Domain name valuation is more of an art than a science because
motivation of the buyer and seller are hard to quantify.

This is the domain valuation process I use when I am planning to buy or sell a domain name. It is best to set a
low end and high end price range since setting a target price on a domain may encourage my client to fixate on that
as a target price.

Regarding the domain name

Is the domain developed?

What is its current use?

Is it in search engines for relevant keywords (also search "keyword keyword" with quotes to force results
that only contain keyword keyword next to each other.

How about the keywords of the domain together without the extension in Google?

Any incoming backlinks from other sites?

What does the cached page in the search engines look like? Has the use recently changed?

Do DomainTools.com whois look up to discover other domains on the same server,
creation date, whowas ownership records and other information.

Check with Estibot, the free appraisal service. I usually don't order appraisals unless my client
requests one. Moniker, Sedo, Afternic and Godaddy are just some of the companies that offer appraisals.

Lastly...

After initial contact with current registrant is initiated, ask for traffic and revenue statistics. Also ask if
the domain has been on the market anywhere in the past. How long has the current registrant owned it? There are
many more questions to ask the current domain owner but now we are getting into negotiations so I'll stop here.

By posting my process for estimating the purchase/sale price of domains, I feel this is kind of like a magician
showing you how the trick is done. So, I ask that you respect my content and do not copy and post it anywhere. Of
course you can link to it though :-)